Morgan's Star Trek collection - Toy Discussion at Toyark.com (2024)

Morgan

Hi everybody, here's my Star Trek figure collection. I used to collect these back in the day when they were new, have sold off most in the early 2000s, but I'm now collecting the rarer stuff like the various international versions of the figures and vehicles. This line had much more nuance than was known at the time -- the internet was barely a thing back in the day -- so a lot of information that's known now was simply not around despite magazines like Toy Fare, Lee's and Tomart's, which I used to read obsessively.

This line has a reputation for being excessively scalped and stockpiled back in the day, but the joke's on those who overinvested, expecting the action figure bubble to never burst. Now this Star Trek line exists in a binary state: 90% is very cheap and easily findable (shipping is more expensive than the figure), but various rarities that were not well publicized at the time can still command some dough. In the age of eBay it's very easy to build up a collection, but when it comes to rare international packaging it can still be a very difficult to find some items, even with eBay.

I also collect 1990s Star Wars stuff, but mostly just the rare international versions as well.

Last edited by Morgan; 07-09-2023 at 03:19 PM..

Morgan

This is one of those figures that was unfindable when it was new, for whatever reason, and was expensive on the secondary market. The situation is different now, and I'm glad I have the chance to basically buy these at will. I recall seeing these for just under $100 around 1997, but it seemed there weren't really any for sale at the time to begin with, which is strange given the fairly generous production run. This one is numbered #11,049 and is about a C-8 condition.

I always wondered just how this became a "chase" figure given the relatively-plentiful production run. Needless to say, valuation was different in the pre-eBay days and at a time of relative informational blackout, not counting the self-reinforcing magazine price guides like Lee's and ToyFare.

The 7th season is probably my favorite set because it contains so many rarities and so much weirdness, including Data from "Redemption," followed closely by Thomas Riker, Esoqq, and Gowron in Ceremonial attire. Even Gowron was $60 at one point which is hard to fathom today, even if signed by Robert Reilly.

Morgan

Here's an international packaging version of the Romulan from 1992 that I just got, with text in French and Spanish. It's similar to Canadian packaging in that there's a somewhat redundant blue sticker at the bottom of the blister, but the combadge logo is not blank like on Canadian figures, and instead features the tri-lingual text. What's also interesting about these is that the yellow clip-n-collect card backs are essentially large stickers glued over the existing yellow cards; the text underneath is a mystery. And, these were distributed by Bandai in the UK, hence the Bandai logo, in addition to the German packaging which was entirely different; essentially a small rectangular box for the 1992 release figures.

That's about it when it comes to the differences to the U.S. market figures, aside from the fact that this one has a slightly discolored right upper arm that has a pink shade to it. This one has the number 238,343 on his foot, so Euro-market figures weren't part of some different release.

This is only the second Romulan I've owned, 1992 inaugural figures were expensive by 1995. I remember these going for 20 easily, U.S. market of course. The figure itself is less caricaturish than the Ferengi, and is actually pretty well executed. This was 1 of the 3 generic aliens/bad guys from the original 1992 release, alongside the Borg and the Ferengi, and the somewhat politically-ambiguous Gowron.

Morgan

This is one of my favorites from the debut lineup, and this one happens to be on a European tri-lingual card, which means that the clip-and-collect part of the card is a sticker that's glued on over whatever's underneath. That also means that like the Canadian card there's a sticker on the front of the blister identifying the figure, in addition to the Bandai logo.

The Ferengi is one of the more caricaturish debut release figures, but I've always liked this figure's rarity despite the huge production numbers of the debut line. By the mid-90s these were all pickled away, and usually retailed for $20 to $30.

The debut line did not have a "chase" figure per se, but a small number of Ferengi figures were made without the black highlights on the bootstraps. So along with the mirror image Borg, the no-black-on-boots Ferengi was the "chase" figure.

The accessories with this figure are nothing short of epic. The whip, which I don't think made an appearance past the first first episode that featured the Ferengi -- "The Last Outpost" -- is not particularly scary, while the phaser rifle is about the same size as a the Ferengi's torso. The blaster is also gigantic, and is not something that can reasonably be carried on the Ferengi's person even if the figure had a holster. The unique base is nice, as is the dilithium chrystal.

I also like this figure because of the history of the whole Ferengi concept in TNG: originally meant to be the villains of the series, they had advanced ships that it was difficult to believe they could be bothered to build, and that the episode itself was shot before the special effects were done (not all that unusual by itself), which led Picard to remark "An impressive design" as the Enterprise was chasing the Ferengi ship. The Ferengi costumes weren't scary, their whips weren't scary, and in the episode they came off as more of a nuisance than a threat. I've wondered at times if there were other episodes in the pipeline where the Ferengi were slated to wreak more havoc... If there were, they were shelved after "The Last Outpost." I also like how Riker and Picard were visibly affected by their reputation in this episode, at least at first. This is a character from that innocent era of TNG.

Morgan

This is it; this is indeed one of those tremendously rare Canadian-market DS9 figures on TNG 7th season card. Only a few thousand, perhaps less than 5000, have been said to have received 7th season cards for some mysterious production reason, and few collectors have mentioned these figures' existence. The Sarek and Lwaxana duo received some publicity in the 1990s, and by that I mean they were offered at $200 a pop, but DS9 series two figures on DS9 series one or TNG Seventh Season cards have rarely been mentioned. Some series two DS9 figures like Dax in duty uniform and a few others appeared on DS9 series one and TNG Season Seven cards, for a grand total of three cards.

This figure has the wonderfully contradictory Riker DS9 sticker and the 7th season card with a bilingual 7th season sticker, while the back is a generic TNG series two and 7th season lineup.

I think a number of a these DS9 figures largely avoided being scalped in Canada when they were new, hence the low remaining numbers of these. One can find a dozen Yesterday's Tashas any day of the week, but these just aren't out there.

This figure of course the distinction of having nothing in common with Thomas Riker who appeared in the episode "Defiant." The manufacturer perhaps got a very general brief on this figure before the episode aired or before photos of the actor in the screen-worn uniform were distributed, so we got this O'Brien body reuse. In turns out, all they had to do was just issue the 1992 Riker with a DS9/Generations combadge, perhaps with an updated sculpt, and minus the bodybuilder physique.

The actual DS9 episode with Thomas Riker, which bears no relation to the figure here, is one of the fan favorites, and also one of the biggest unresolved plots of the series. I remember when this episode first aired, and at the end everyone's reaction was like "Oh cool, they'll get him out of that Cardassian prison next season or something" and then they just forgot about him. Thomas Riker would have made a great recurring character as long as the Maquis episodes lasted -- they kind of tapered off by the 3rd season until Kassidy Yates arrived. The failure to follow up on the Thomas Riker is kind of one of the biggest unfulfilled promises of the series, in my view, even though the writing staff reportedly received story pitches that brought him back. It is also said that Thomas Riker was suggested to be folded into the Damar's rebellion storyline, which would have been great if it had actually come to fruition.

Morgan

Here's a very "nouveau" and very welcome addition to my collection: LaForge in the correct Generations uniform on 7th season card; a Canadian-market thing. The back of the card is a 31-figure portrait as with other DS9, TNG, and Generations figures that were released in Canada in small numbers on the 7th season cards, like Thomas Riker above, of which apparently there was an oversupply. The figure is numbered #30936, which is towards the bottom fourth of the run for LaForge on all cards. It would be interesting to find out if other LaForges on these cards are all within a certain number range.

Needless to say, I love the randomness and rarity of these cards.

LaForge the character has the distinction of being just about the only Generations actor to have been filmed in the discarded Generations uniforms. Reports have it that the uniforms just didn't sit well on the actors because of the wraparound design and other issues, but some of the scenes with the actors had been filmed just a few days into the shoot. The correct Data and LaForge appear on the box of the Engineering Playset though.

The company did try to make amends for the Generations line at various points down the road, though not all of them. Picard in the screenworn Generations uniform, for example, came via the very weird DS9 figure which didn't make any sense, and others never appeared in their proper costumes.

Morgan

Here's the Canadian version of Tasha Yar on 7th season card. The back of this card is the Canadian 31-figure high school yearbook photo with the DS9 Nintendo game promo at the bottom, same as Thomas Riker above -- no character biography. One thing about the Tasha figure you never think about: they skipped her when doing the season one characters in the second wave of TNG figures in 1993.

This figure gets bonus points for misspelling Natasha on the Canadian-market sticker on the front. I would also bet that it's harder to find this figure in Canadian packaging now than "Yesterday's Enterprise" Tasha. This figure is #48136, so about midway through the production. I suspect that Canada also got Tasha on the regular card as in the US, but I'm not sure.

Morgan

This is one of my fave figures from the 7th season set, a lineup full of rare figures. Was very lucky to get Esoqq on Canadian card. This is one of those characters that were on screen only for a few minutes, and were drafted into the "weird alien" role by the toymaker. In the previous release, we had the Vorgon play this role, and to some extent Dathon, though Dathon was of the central character in the episode.

Back when this line was new this figure ranked just below Thomas Riker, who was just below Red Data in terms of rarity, if we count Red Data as a "retail" figure at all. Despite the high production run, Esoqq was nowhere to be seen. I think the best one could hope to encounter at a TRU, department store, or pharmacy, was Q in Judges Robes, which itself was valued at just north of $30 at its peak. Esoqq was a solid $60 to $80. But he wasn't really out in collectible shops either, which was strange in itself given the production run. These should have been out there on sale but they just weren't.

In the transition from character to action figure, Esoqq noticeably bulked up, but that was a normal thing to happen in the world of Trek figures, so no news here. I kinda wish this figure was available on the later 1995 TNG cards as well in the same way that Soong and Ro Laren were, among others, just for a bit of variation.

Morgan

Next up is a rare European-carded Soran from "Generations," one of just a handful of foreign-market "Generations" figures that I have. The backer of the card is pretty interesting: it has a large Bandai sticker and one-sentence profiles of all the characters, some with weird word choices and spelling errors. So in Europe the "Generations" figures had a common card.

Unlike some others in this series the likeness is very realistic, though the figure is let down a bit by the bland "villain" costume and an unimaginative pose. Soran wore a different costume earlier in the film, on the Enterprise-D, but it wasn't replicated on the figure. All of this made it somewhat unpopular -- this figure I recall was most plentiful in stores. I remember Generations figures would be sitting on shelves almost a year after the movie came out, and a good half of them would be Sorans. Meanwhile, the TOS Generations crew I never saw on store shelves ever, not even skydiving Kirk. They were just scalped the hell out and going for $40 each whereever you could find them.

The accessories are okay, and I wasn't expecting a whole launchpad with a missile that could be put together, though a torpedo that we see on the observatory would have been nice. It would have been undoable given the size of the accessories... but it would have been nice. His kewl folding disruptor is not one of the accessories, presumably because for this line the available figure art was distributed before production completed, hence the ditched uniforms.

"Generations" gets a disliked reputation at times, but I think that's because its so many different movies in one -- there was a lot that the writers were trying to accomplish there. The "nexus" was always going to be nothing more than a time-travel plot device, one that worked a little too conveniently, and there was arguably a lot happening without a real feel for what was at stake. The plot felt complicated and despite great cinematography it felt very forced, trying to get a lot of plot points done.

Here's something you never think about in Generations: would McDowell have worked as a villain if he had an American accent?

Why would one El-Aurian have a British accent and another, namely Guinan, would not?

Last edited by Morgan; 12-29-2018 at 02:47 PM..

Morgan

Here's Worf in Rescue Uniform on a Canadian card, characterized by a bilingual card, a common yearbook photo on the back from several releases, and a sticker on the blister. This is one of the 7th Season figures that once again hails from the 6th season, from the pretty nifty episode "Birthright" parts I and II. This is from the era when TNG was coasting to some degree with interesting character-centered episodes that were extremely rare in the earlier seasons, but was still really good. This was an expensive episode I recall because of all the sets, and it's of course notable because of the DS9 scenes, which I don't really recall aside from the Quark's Bar scenes.

This figure always stood out for its rarity -- I've never seen one in stores -- and its cool accessories. I think this figure was rare but not particularly valuable back when it came out, but once again scalping around the time it came out was rampant. Some 7th season figures hung out on shelves for over a year, others were nowhere to be seen.

There's a nicely sculpted backpack, a rope, a metal spike, and I think some explosive charges. The Canadian card is a universal one for this grouping, so there's no bio or explanation on the back for what the accessories are.

Morgan

Here's an Australian-market Dr. Bashir in duty uniform on the debut release card. The front features an equipment tray different from both other versions, the debut release and the second release. As you can see the combadge is on the bottom, the other equipment is at the top, and there is no pog or card period. The back of this card is pretty interesting as well: O'Brien, Dax and Bashir in TNG uniforms were the only three characters tacked on to the first DS9 release for Australia, perhaps because the second release was already in production when the debut release was ready for Australia. So essentially the debut release in Australia had three additional figures, and they had neither pogs nor cards.

It would have been cool if the Australian release had one or two completely random figures not offered in any other country, like a generic Bajoran General or Keiko. In other markets there would be like no mention of it or explanation -- just nothing.

The Bashir in duty uniform on a US card I think was the second figure I ever bought, back in 1994, and at the time I could not figure out why there was a whole line of DS9 figures in TNG uniforms. The debut line in DS9 jumpsuits was out at this time, but for whatever reason Bashir in DS9 uniform was the chase figure, and to some degree Dukat was as well, so there was zero chance of finding him in DS9 uniform. I remember he was going for $30.00 at collectibles shops, if he was available at all.

Morgan

Here's a companion figure to the Australian Bashir: the Australian-market O'Brien. Like Bashir and Dax in duty uniforms this one is on the debut release card and has a unique accessory tray with the combadge at the bottom, no pog or card, and equipment at the top of the tray. He's one of the three duty uniform figures that were added to the debut release in Australia and I think nowhere else.

What's interesting about that trio is that Dax in Duty Uniform actually appeared on three cards:

1. debut release DS9 in Australia
2. second release DS9 card in the states and most other markets,
3. and also(!) on TNG 7th season card in Canada.

There were a few more DS9 second release figures that appeared on TNG 7th season cards (though not on DS9 debut release cards). Out of those, so far I've seen Picard in DS9 uniform and Q in DS9 uniform on 7th season, but there could be more.

The manufacturer nailed the O'Brien likeness with these, I always wished they made a TNG diamond red uniform version of O'Brien -- it would have been an amazingly simple thing to do, but the company stopped caring about the early seasons of TNG after they did Tasha and Pulaski. Understandable perhaps; aside from those two there weren't any other regular primary characters missing. O'Brien on TNG was...just... almost there.

Morgan

Here's O'Brien in duty uniform on TNG 7th series card, as sold in Canada. That's right; this is one of three cards that O'Brien was sold with, and it's actually not incorrect -- O'Brien did wear this uniform on TNG. So this actually works. Eagle-eyed collectors will have perhaps noticed by now that the accessories are different from the Australian release above, as is the positioning. The Australian version lacks the pog and the tray is built differently, in addition to the different accessories.

There were three cards for O'Brien in duty uniform, here's who got what:

US: DS9 second release card
Australia: DS9 first release card
Canada: TNG 7th series card

I kind of wish there was a fourth one, to be honest. But that's all there is, and I think very few people have all three. This is one of several DS9 second release figures that were on 7th season TNG cards -- they got pulled in into 7th season cards along with a number of figures from TNG 1995 release (Asst 6950), but just which ones is unclear when it concerns the TNG 1995 release. Has anyone seen Pulaski, Locutus and All Good Things Picard on 7th series Canadian cards? I've seen some from that release, but not all. The production numbers for those figures were tiny.

O'Brien was seen in what must be a record number of uniforms in TNG and DS9: red diamond, gold diamond, gold duty, gold jumpsuit, TOS red (lest we forget), and FC. I kind wish the manufacturer had done him in a red diamond uniform, but that could always be made as a custom. I think they avoided doing more of him simply because there were three versions already, including the dress uniform.

It's a shame they didn't work him into FC with Worf on the Defiant, that would have been a great cameo.

Morgan

Here's a Canadian-market Picard on TNG 7th season card, one of several DS9 second release figures that were offered in Canada on TNG cards.

I never had one of these back when they were new, but I remember standing in Target and thinking real hard about getting this one. The info on the back of the card always surprised me, by suggesting there was some DS9 episode where an impostor Picard shows up. I had a Trek encyclopedia at that point in time, but I could never locate the episode where this supposedly happens.

This figure on TNG 7th season card is also interesting in that were it not for the circular combadge, this would be a screen-accurate Picard "Generations" figure, which was never made, along with Riker in the red DS9 jumpsuit. As a result, this is one of those really obvious omissions by the manufacturer, even though they've tried to readdress "Generations" with Data and Geordi figures in the last TNG wave. I think it's the existence of this figure that prevented the manufacturer from doing a correct Picard "Generations" figure -- they already did this, so what's the point from their perspective?

This one is numbered #38192, and is mint. Supposedly, there were differing numbers of DS9 second release figures done on TNG cards for Canada -- the only market where this sort of thing happened. I haven't seen all of the second-release DS9 figures on these cards though. There were other DS9-related shenanigans in Australia, however, which led to some DS9 figures being released on a grand total of three cards, like one of the Bashirs above.

Morgan

Here's an Australian-market Dathon. The differences between this one and US-market versions:

- no card or pog
- the equipment tray is redesigned and like the rest of the Australian-market second-release figures the action base is at the bottom
- action base isn't in a little bag
- the top right yellow bubble text is different from the US-market version. Namely, the bubble basically repeats the info in the other yellow bubble, so it says "each figure individually numbered" in both of the bubbles, which is kinda funny.
- no yellow sticker on the blister advertising a Skybox card
- small overlay sticker on back regarding package being printed in China

This was a pretty cool episode. Not only was this the return of Paul Winfield after he did Wrath of Khan, but this was a very TOS-style plot: the captain is stranded with another captain on a planet, and they have to overcome their differences in order to survive. (That, honestly, seemed to be the plot of every other TOS episode). This episode was so cool that it made people overlook the fact that a language based entirely on metaphors is too impractical. For instance, how does one order food in this language, or how do you have a discussion about numbers? Substituting a whole phrase for one single concept could also make flying a starship difficult. How would you say: "Adjust course to compensate for gravitational field of third planet in system X?" That could take a while. But whatever, I don't want to ruin the memory of a great episode by pointing out conceptual holes.

This episode also had a lot of staying power. Besides "Resistance is futile," people who are not necessarily into Trek also seem to recognize "Shaka, when the walls fell!" from TNG. I still see people wearing t-shirts with that phrase, and for a 25 year old Trek episode that's a huge achievement, to put it mildly. Sci-fi fans and anyone who grew up during that time might not remember the name of the episode, but they recognize that phrase.

"Darmok" was also cool for not using a damn set for a planet -- thankfully there was money in the budget for driving a few minutes off the Paramount lot and into the hills somewhere in LA, Bronson Canyon to be exact. People also forget that this episode featured the first appearance of Ashley Judd playing Robin Leffler, a character that the producers couldn't figure out what to do with later on.

Morgan

Here'a an Australian-market warrior Worf. As with Dathon above, there are a number of differences from the US and Canadian-market cards:

- there is no card or pog, not sure why Australia got cheated out of those, but okay.
- the equipment tray is different and like the rest of the Australian-market second-release figures the action base is at the bottom.
- action base does not come in a little bag.
- the top right yellow bubble text is different from the US-market version.
- no yellow sticker on the blister advertising a Skybox card
- there is a small overlay sticker on back regarding package being printed in China

This is a pretty cool figure, one that I never had back when these figures were new and they were coming out. This is also a figure that was a bit scarce from the beginning, like Locutus and a couple of others. This figure didn't have the same fate as Admiral McCoy and others that could be found on store shelves years after the release. Out of the basic second release figures, this was one of the toughest to come across along with Ambassador Spock (because Spock!)

Here's something even the diehard collectors probably don't think about very often; there are a TON of different Worfs in the TNG line, and this is already the third Worf figure in merely the second release. It's also one of the most complex ones in the second release, with the detailed body and the cloak itself. The accessories are all very cool -- the only thing he doesn't have here is the bat'leth. In retrospect, it would have been cool if the Australian version had completely difference accessories, but there are enough differences here as is to stay entertained.

I always liked how the U.S. version of this figure has a SkyBox card where Worf is giving someone major sideeye.

This is also a figure whose pog version, in the US market, I have almost never seen. I think it could very well be scarcer than some of the others -- there were some rare pog versions aside from Vorgon and Dathon that you just never really seen in stores.

Morgan

Here's a Canadian-market Dax in duty uniform on TNG 7th season card, one of a number of DS9 second release figures that were sold on 7th season cards. This is also one just 3 second release figures that were sold on 3 different cards depending on the market, alongside duty uniform Bashir and O'Brien. So for this Dax, here's what the cards were in different markets:

1. debut release DS9 card: Australia
2. second release DS9 card: U.S.
3. TNG 7th season card: Canada.

The Canadian one is perhaps rarer than the Australian one, but just barely. Unlike the Australian one, the plastic shell and equipment tray are identical to the second release figure, plus there is a pog as well. The back of this card, of course, is a TNG second release and 7th season high school yearbook, with no biography for the character.

There were a number of these DS9 second release figures on 7th season cards, and I haven't caught them all. So far I know there is Q, Picard DS9, Tom Riker DS9, duty uniform O'Brien, and duty uniform Bashir -- so there are thought to be a total of 6. That number could be definitive, and I haven't seen others. That's not counting the 1995 TNG figures that were also released on these cards, including the correct "Generations" Data and Geordi, as well as Sarek and Lwaxana with pog and with SkyBox cards (everyone forgets there were Sarek and Lwaxana on 7th season cards with SkyBox cards instead of pogs as well).

As far as screen-correctness goes, Dax did wear a duty uniform in "The Emissary," though one thing we rarely talk about is how this shade of uniform is far more green on the figures than it was on screen. On screen, depending on lighting, science uniforms were darker or lighter shades of blue, while on the figures it is a dark green. We don't really notice it, but if you look at still images of science uniforms on TNG and DS9, they are definitely gradations of blue, not green.

In film stills the science colors for all cast members could be very green or very blue. The science colors were definitely very light sensitive, and appeared different in various TV lighting settings versus still photos in magazines. So the cast photos often very different tones than what you than you saw on your TV. See, now you're going to be thinking about that next time you watch it : )

Morgan

Here's a Canadian-market Q from the second release of DS9 on TNG 7th season card, one of six DS9 figures that made it on to the TNG 7th season cards. Unlike some of the others, this one was not available on first release DS9 cards in Australia, so there are only two card versions of this particular one.

This Q is a head swap of the Sisko figure, but it is screen accurate, which is more than could be said for some other figures. Three different Q figures were made in a very short span of time, but only one of them is actually any fun, mostly because it's relatively sinister. Q actually had some very interesting costumes over the years, but the starfleet uniforms were of course his default.

I still haven't seen the DS9 episode where he gets into a fight with Sisko -- I've barely seen anything from the first season of DS9 even though I have all the other seasons on DVD. The first season was.... not a high point for the series, so I know I'm missing out on some awkward and boring plots.

Morgan

Here's a Canadian-market version of Barclay, one of my favorite figures from the 7th season release and a bit of a rare figure.

I really like the concept of a Barclay figure even if the execution itself is a little cartoonish, but it was always nice to see a secondary character turned into a figure. Barclay, after all, was not present in that many episodes of TNG, even though he is otherwise a well-known character. He's a character who's better remembered in proportion to the number of times that he's actually appeared on screen, as a number of others like Robin Leffler and Ro Laren. Barclay was popular enough with the fans to several appearances in "Voyager" and a speaking part in First Contact -- just about the only other secondary TNG character to make the jump to films was Alyssa Ogawa.

Lance Quazar

Season 1 is certainly not...great.

But there are a few episodes worth watching. "Emissary" is essential, of course. And it's a pretty good start. "Captive Pursuit", "The Nagus", and "Vortex" are all very good and worth checking out.

There are a number of episodes that are watchable, but not amazing, like "A Man Alone", "Past Prologue", "Babel" and "In the Hands of the Prophets" (worth seeing since it introduces Winn.) I'd even put "Q-Less" on this list, which is good for TNG fans and has some solid jokes (though it's boring in spots to be sure.)

And then there's "Duet." It's easily one of the best episodes of any Star Trek series ever and is can't-miss viewing.

Morgan

Yeah, there were definitely some early season episodes which stand up well in the later seasons, but the show really took off by the third season. Early on the writers didn't quite know where to take the show beyond the space station and wormhole concept -- stories were supposed to come to the station versus a ship going to a new planet every week -- but that soon became too much of a "bottle episode" concept. It's difficult to imagine DS9 in the days before the whole Dominion came into view.

"Q-Less" is actually episode #7 in the whole series, which seems awfully early to dip into TNG characters after the Emissary, but then there's also a Lwaxana episode later on in season 1, number 17. I had forgotten that DS9 dipped into TNG characters that much, aside from the very very cool Tom Riker episode, which was glorious in every way, and a definite Top 10 for me for the series. Until Worf, I think that was pretty much it for TNG characters. In retrospect it's kind of surprising that the Enterprise-E was not seen during the Dominion War seasons, but in retrospect that seems like something that would have been expensive to arrange, unless it was just an Enterprise character popping into Sisko's office to say hi. DS9 showed a lot of restraint when it came to TNG characters in the later seasons, as well as Borg episodes, which were in fact pitched by the writers but never led to anything.

I keep forgetting that "Duet" is in season one, that's another easy Top 10.

It's interesting, in hindsight, to look at how much of season one was about Bajorans coming to terms with the Cardassian aftermath. I don't know if the whole series could have gone on just with those types of stories for the entire 7 seasons, but looking back those are some of the most thoughtful episodes, even those they're by no means the "loudest."

Also, "Past Prologue" which is the second episode introduces Garak, but then he's not seen or really used all that much for a long while.

Last edited by Morgan; 01-08-2019 at 02:38 PM..

Morgan

Here's an awesome figure, one that didn't get as much publicity as some of the others back in the day; the Nausicaan on a 7th season Canadian card. This is one of just a handful of TNG 4th release figures that were sold in Canada on 7th season cards.

These were one of the least easily-found figures from the 4th release, despite the fact that it came out at "peak Trek," and it's a very rare thing to find on a Canadian card. The back, of course, has no mention of the Nausicaan as it's just a second release and partial 7th season yearbook photo, and there is no character bio either.

These were pretty interesting characters on TNG, certainly one of the rarer aliens, and as figures they were rendered as the big "bad guys" with a much scarier (and more cartoonish, like the Ferengi) physique than onscreen. I always thought that in concept this figure is very similar to Esoqq, in that they were a scarcely-seen scary alien that could be easily turned into an antagonist action figure. It's as if they were planned on the same day in the same character brainstorming session.

The difference was that Esoqq was, for one reason or another, a much more avidly collected figure, even though their numbers, from what I know, were nowhere as tiny as some of the other figures like Thomas Riker. Nausicaan on a 7th season Canadian card was, in fact, rarer than Esoqq on a U.S. card, but Esoqq got all the publicity in the action figure magazines back in the day when shops used to brashly advertise them for $40.00 or $60.00, if not more. I'm still not sure to what degree that was warranted by the numbers produced -- their numbers suggest they should have been plentiful.

One thing easy to forget about the Nausicaans is that they made appearances in DS9, Voyager and even Enterprise, even though their most famous scene is in "Tapesty" TNG with Picard. I think they were in at least seven DS9 episodes, usually in very small roles as bodyguards and whatnot.

Morgan

Here's easily one of the coolest figures of 7th season release, Hugh Borg on a Canadian card. This is one of the rarer figures from this release, which itself was full of rare figures, and it's a very detailed figure that didn't stick around on the shelves all that long unlike some of the others from that release that were on shelves for ages. I've never seen one for sale new in a store, believe it or not. I bought a loose copy from a friend, minus some accessories. That was it.

The Borg figures were always a little off in terms of screen accuracy, but the details always made up for that, and that's true of this figure as well. This one has some cool accessories that are, for once, in a plausible color -- this almost never happens, but it happened with this figure. There's a replacement arm with what seems like a vacuum cleaner attachment on the end that telescopes out (very cool), a giant 1980s cell phone, and some other stuff. All of it is gray metallic, which is arguably the best color for Borg peripherals.

"I, Borg" is one of the few TNG episodes that I've never actually seen in its entirety, not even five minutes of it. Same thing for the episode with Thomas Riker. It always seemed like one of those episodes that was never on, even though it's one of the fan favorites just because it is one of the few episodes that actually dealt with the Borg. For every one time they reran "I, Borg," they reran "Code of Honor" like thirty times. Even though I've never seen this episode I've read the encyclopedia so many times that I know tons of trivia from it, including all the guest actors' names.

For being a cool villain associated with TNG, the Borg were actually seen in a remarkably small number of episodes. I was recently reading about the plans that writer Maurice Hurley had for the Borg in the first season, early on, and they were quite impressive. Of course, the writers strike happened and Hurley moved on from the series, but the plans for the Borg would have been pretty epic if they had materialized: Romulus was supposed to be destroyed and the Romulan civilization wiped out, but before the Borg would have been able to accomplish this they could have destroyed one of the Borg cubes. And Picard was supposed to figure out how they did that, it was supposed to be a mystery.

Needless to say, those were pretty breathtaking plans for the series which did not, at the time, have multi-episode plot arcs, or really any kind of accumulation of consequences (aside from Tasha's death). And from the beginning Q was envisioned as playing a role in the Borg's introduction -- the episode "Q Who" was sketched out early on, and it ended up being scripted as planned, with Q playing an "unreliable god" and Picard being forced to seek his help when he couldn't deal with encountering the Borg.

It's pretty remarkable the reputation that the Borg had acquired as a TNG villain in proportion to the number of times they were seen on screen -- the series certainly would have turned out differently if Hurley had stayed on and a complex plot arc involving the Borg came to fruition.

Morgan

Here is one my favorite 7th season release figures, or two figures I should say: Gowron in ceremonial attire, Canadian market version. This was, for some reason, a hard to find figure back in the day despite the fact that there were apparently plenty of them.

These two are numbered 9060 and 5515, and being Canadian-market versions they have 31-figure backs with a yellow DS9 advert box in addition to the French text on the front.

The figure itself is a pretty clever remake from existing parts, but they sold it really well. (If you think about it for a second, this was a bit of a cop-out since this was the second Gowron figure being made, instead of someone like K'mpec, Duras, or half a dozen other arguably worthy Klingons to be made into figures). Still, it's reasonably screen accurate, even though Robert Reilly did not have Michael Dorn's height or physique (which was kind of obvious in the show) and he was a reasonably recurring character to warrant a figure. This is a more realistic Gowron than in the 1992 debut release, and this version is arguably what should have been done in the first place.

It would have been nice is this version had a Skybox card, so despite having two versions of Gowron the manufacturer got out of including a card or pog. The accessories here are also standard issue Klingon stuff. But the 7th season release had a lot of "parts-bin" figures.

I was starting to collect these figures (not these exact ones) right as this release was on store shelves, and needless to say there were plenty of figures like Picard and Data as Romulans (of course), as well as Riker as a Malcorian on store shelves. But figures like Barclay, Hugh, Esoqq and Gowron were nowhere to be seen. I think the single best store find for me was Q in Judges Robes, prices for which at the time were actually kind of steep -- hard to believe now.

Morgan

Here's a rare figure from back in the day: Q in Judge's Robes on a Canadian card. There's a "bonus feature" on this card: a sticker that claims this Q hails from the TNG episide "The Big Goodbye." That certainly is not the case -- this sticker is meant for Picard as Dixon Hill, but this figure redeems itself for being one of just a few from the 7th season-carded figures that actually were in season 7.

This was a pretty rare figure back in the day, priced alongside Gowron in Ceremonial Attire but below Esoqq from this release. But clearly one for the die-hard fans, as it is both a bit sinister and boring for the intended audience. There were a number of figures like this in this release, Esoqq for example, that weren't particularly hot in concept. Sarek and Lwaxana are also in that category, as they were hardly the "heroes" of the show. If you notice it's figures like that, not popular characters, that were made in smaller numbers and became rarer. For every Esoqq or Q in Judge's Robes there were a hundred Data and Picard as Romulans.